Kash Patel, the conspiracy theorist and podcaster -turned FBI director, is sleeping on the job — literally. According to a recent report from The Atlantic, members of Patel’s security detail have, on multiple occasions, had “difficulty waking Patel because he was seemingly intoxicated.” At one point last year, a request was made for equipment used by SWAT teams in order to get through to the FBI director because he “had been unreachable behind locked doors.”

The Atlantic’s reporting makes clear what has been obvious from the start: Patel is unfit to lead the FBI, and President Trump should fire him.

Patel has now sued The Atlantic for defamation, and the lawsuit claims that the article is “replete with false and obviously fabricated allegations designed to destroy Director Patel’s reputation and drive him from office.” The magazine stands by its reporting. According to the article, Patel has displayed clear signs of paranoia, delayed time-sensitive investigations, and even rescheduled meetings and briefings for later in the day because of his drinking habits. As one official told The Atlantic, “We don’t have a real functioning FBI director.”

Even if Patel’s claim that the allegations are false has any merit, what is already publicly known about his time at the helm of the FBI is enough grounds for dismissal. And if Trump refuses to fire him, Congress should investigate Patel to get a full accounting of his mismanagement of one of the country’s most important federal law enforcement agencies.

Since he was appointed to lead the FBI, Patel has been no stranger to scandal. He has, for example, used FBI jets for vacations and dates. He has demanded that SWAT teams escort his girlfriend when she’s out for personal engagements or running errands. He flew to Milan on the taxpayers’ dime to watch the Olympics — a trip in which he was filmed chugging beer in the locker room with the USA men’s hockey team. House Democrats have already launched a probe into the FBI director’s personal use of the FBI jet.

But Patel has also displayed poor judgment far beyond his personal use of government equipment. He has made impulsive and misleading public statements during ongoing and highly sensitive investigations. During the manhunt after Charlie Kirk’s assassination, for example, Patel announced on social media that “the subject” was in custody, even though the suspect had not yet been arrested. (The subject Patel was referring to was a person of interest who was released after being interrogated.) Patel’s post led to confusion over whether law enforcement had found the gunman. The governor of Utah had to later clarify at a press conference that the gunman was still at large.

Patel has also made decisions that seemingly have nothing to do with public safety. He has fired agents for what can only be construed as political reasons. Those firings include agents who knelt during the George Floyd protests in 2020 and agents who worked on probes into Trump and the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the US Capitol.

A 115-page report compiled by an alliance of on-duty and retired agents concluded that Patel is “in over his head” and that under his leadership, the FBI has turned into a “rudderless ship.”

Needless to say, the FBI is a critical law enforcement and intelligence agency that is tasked with protecting Americans and investigating some of the most complex crimes and terror plots. Putting someone without the right experience in charge of that agency was a mistake from the start, and it’s only become more and more obvious how big of a mistake that was since Patel was confirmed by the Senate in a 51-49 vote. Now, the new reporting from The Atlantic only adds more reason to believe that Patel is not suited for his role, and his leadership is putting the nation at risk.

For the good of the country and the people he claims to serve, Patel should resign. If he doesn’t, Trump should fire him.

– The Boston Globe